One Ear Society

The Blog of the One Ear Society

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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Monica back from Cuba part 2



I studied with the resident company at Teatro America in Centro Habana and at the Projecto Comunitario Ile Bata in Vieja Habana. I focused on the development of my dances for both Yemaya and Oshun, the goddesses of ocean and fresh water , respectively in the Santero Pantheon. It was a tremendously rewarding experience, leaving me with a humble understanding of the complexity and depth of this art form. The roots of Afro-Cuban dance extend back to West African rhythms that traveled across the atlantic on slave ships, merged with indigenous instruments, were influenced by Spanish colonial dance and then syncretized with Catholic saints. Learning a folkloric dance is much more than just a technical study. There is a cultural essence that one must learn through a process that feels more osmotic. I believe it is important to experience the cultural context of how the dance is passed down from teacher to student, mother to daughter, father to son and how the essence of it is maintained and preserved within the culture itself. There is something very sacred to me about a live performance art in all its illusive intangibility that is nurtured by a community and kept alive. To me, this is a profound concept, where art and culture collide and how one feeds the other. The degree to which the Cuban culture and its music and dance are merged is remarkable. As a dancer and choreographer I look for ways to translate this natural exchange between art and ones community. In a more technological, post-modern world that often focuses on individuality rather than community this is not a easy process. I was deeply inspired by all that I learned in La Habana from its art to its people, as a reminder of it is not what we own, but rather how we live our lives that is important. As Erich Fromm wrote "To have or to be" it is how we infuse our lives with soul, culture and art that matters. It is this connection both to nature and to ones community that fuels my desire to dance and create art.

Monica back from Cuba part 1

Poster says "Old Havana, City in Movement 15th International Festival of Dance in the urban landscape"
La Habana, Cuba
I recently made a pilgrimage to the source of Afro-cuban dance to study both the rhythmic patterns of the percussion and the dance itself. La Habana in many ways reminded me of why I dance, for what and for who. "Habana is very much like a rose. It has petals and thorns, so it depends on how you grasp it. But in the end it always grabs you."- A quote from the film The Lost City, well describes the often contradictory beauty and fragrance of the city. Wandering the streets of La Habana I found musicians on street corners, open air Son, Rumba and Salsa bands, dancers on stilts in the streets and walked by more than a few Santeria ceremonies in houses with their doors open. The prominence and accessibility of music and dance within the culture was remarkable to experience. In a city that has much less access to the material things with buildings falling down, rickshaws, horses and buggies, there seemed to be a tremendous compensation in the realm of spirit and art. This is what spoke to me. The way music and dance are truly lived and breathed by the community seemed very organic. It felt natural to experience dance and music as a part of life and as a mode of relating and connecting with ones community. I was struck by the overall artistic integrity of the community and their deep appreciation for music and dance. My journey was to learn more about the Yoruba based dance form that I have been studying since I was 19 years old. I am interested in the earthy power of the Afro-Cuban rhythms that tie communities together, creating a space to express joy, unity, and spirituality.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Your branches speak to me of love.

Rare Poinciana Blossoms

Windisch Hunt Fine Art will be sponsoring an open call to artists for the month of June.
"Your branches speak to me of love" will feature Poincianas to lage still life paintings. The images of Poinciana's are not restricted by size just beauty.
Start of entree process is Sunday May 30 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Deadline for entrees are Monday June 7 9 p.m.
Entree fee $35 for 1st and $15 for each additional work of art.
Those entering the first week will be part of the Coconut Grove Art Walk held on Sat June 5, along with the Goombay Festival Event being held in the gallery.
From June 1 - 7th part of the gallery is dedicated to Caribbean art, with a special reception on for the artists and dignitaries coming from the Caribban.
Poinciana trees are about to blossom and here Spotted looking for painting places artists Fred Hunt and Audrey Scott Along with this event the Kampong has full schedule of evens as part of their Poinciana Festival. Speaking of Poinciana trees our friend , artist Linda Apriletti has been selected as the official Poinciana Festival Artist 2010 by the Flowering Tree Society.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Museum Month Miami

AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt of Windisch-Hunt Fine Art
AnnaMaria is seen here, taking notes at the Myrna & Sheldon Palley Pavilion; one of her many stops during Miami Museum Month. She had just visited the ANNUAL MASTERS OF FINE ARTS CANDIDATES EXHIBITION at the Lowes Art Museum with guests from Ocala, Fl. as the University of Miami has several murals by artist Fred Hunt which always generate interest from clients.
Miami Museum Month is also her renewal time for purchasing membership, and she will make it a point to visit several museums this month in recognition.
AnnaMaria has just been acknowledged by NY Arts + Arts Fairs International for the work on this blog which is going into it's third year now. Catch up on the blog where you can even view short videos of artists at work.
Priceless!
This from the Annual Masters of Fine Arts Candidates 2010 exhibit. This work title "Jesus and the Apostles" by Jeff Larson is well executed and somewhat edgy but not new.

Artist Egos trials and tribulations

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal by Max
Trials and tribulations no pun intended, the court has documents so do we go to trial? Odd how things come together. Artists find themselves doing similar work, claiming the other infringed . Here we have some of what goes on when you think your a big wig. Not that we all want to be in their shoes, now, do we? But, how is this done!
Here is a must read from the Miami Herald.
Just yesterday I attended "Max in the Grove" a opening by none other than Peter Max
who gained fame and fortune in the sixties then slumped and now with the resurgence
of the peace signs, Woodstock anniversary, another peak. So what am I getting to.
Well first of all no photography was allowed except by Peter's own photographer. Not that the familiar images of his art work aren't universaly known and then of course there is his book.
You want his signature, that will be a $50 donation to the humane society. He also dictated that the entire gallery walls and footage be dedicated to him, so everyone else was put into storage. He has such a name that even the city fathers underwrote some of the expenses for the publicity leading to this etc. etc. etc.
How much is that helmet in the window? The helmet is fifty nine forty eight. Lady standing next to me wine glass in hand "oh is that all". the art assistant repeates five thousand nine hundred ........LOL
Peter Max got his start as a graphic artist at Push Pin Studios New York. Love his style.

Someone just into gallery looking for Peter Max show, half way through giving her directions from Windisch-Hunt Fine Art to there, she says "Britto Gallery?" " "Mmm well yes", of she went.
Wonder if Britto has heard.
This is the start of the Miami Herald article. link to read the entire story.
""It's hardly a secret that the art world has an out sized share of prickly egos. But rarely does it all get documented in reams of court filings.
Enter Craig Robins, a prominent Miami collector and developer, who recently filed an $8 million federal suit in New York against a gallery he claims got him ``blacklisted'' by one of his favorite artists.
His offense? As Robins tells it, he got on the bad side of painter Marlene Dumas by re-selling a Dumas painting six years ago rather than hanging the work on his wall or donating it to a prestigious museum.
"She wants very much to control the supply and increase the demand'' for her work, Robins' lawyer, Aaron Golub, said in an April court hearing, according to the transcript. ``She wants paintings given to museums and she wants [paintings] in very wealthy collectors' collections.''"